


Honor and Dishonor

by orphan_account



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Mpreg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2019-04-14 00:13:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14123934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Leonardo decides to share his relationship Raph with their father and eagerly awaits his approval, but doesn’t get exactly what he wishes for. Commission for Blackdragon-sama





	1. In the Name of the Father

“Leo, this is stupid,” Raph complained, but he followed his brother nonetheless. They’d had this conversation a thousand times and Raph knew where Leo stood. They had to do this; there just wasn’t another option and he wished that Raph could try to understand that.

  
For months now, Leo and Raph had been sleeping together. Fucking, as Raph would say, but Leo found that too coarse of a description of what was happening between them. It wasn’t just sex, though the sex was good. There was the same spark, passion, and even competitiveness in their budding relationship that had always been between them. That was what it was; a relationship, no less. It was not simply fucking, and Raph was much more than a willing bed-mate to Leo. He was, Leo thought, his soul-mate. Raph was the other side of the coin and they were two halves made whole when they were together. That was why he needed to do this.

  
“Raph, we have to tell Master Splinter. He’s our father. We owe him our honesty,” Leo replied, though he was nervous as well. Truly, he was more concerned with receiving his father’s blessing than anything else, and he had a sinking suspicion that Raph knew. All of his brother’s knew how important Splinter’s approval was to Leo; they’d been teasing him about it since they could talk and Leo had flushed and tried to ignore them as he trailed after his father’s flowing robe.

  
“Yeah, ya said that. It’s still stupid.”

  
Leo ignored Raph and kept walking, struggling to keep his stride determined and his face devoid of the anxiety he felt as Splinter’s door drew nearer. Neutral. Calm. He was the eldest brother; he had to be strong and confident because, no matter what he said, Leo knew this was important to Raph too. Leo was not the only one who craved their father’s approval.

  
Outside of the light rice paper screens sectioning off Splinter’s room, Leo paused. Once they transgressed this threshold, their lives would change forever. Once Splinter knew, everything would be different. There would be no more hiding, no more sneaking around between training, lying about needing a power nap. Leo knew his father and trusted his judgment; Splinter was a wise and fair man. No matter what Raph thought, Leo knew that Sensei would understand. Raising his hand, Leo rapped his knuckles gently against the bamboo frame.

  
“Enter,” Splinter called out in his gravely voice, sounding a bit as though they’d disturbed his meditation, and Leo felt a pang of guilt as he slid open the screen. Then again, maybe Splinter had just been sleeping. He took naps more frequently now than ever before, and gray touched his fur that Leo didn’t remember being there when he was a kid.

  
Immediately, Splinter could tell something was up. It wasn’t difficult; his first and third son shuffled in with apprehensive expressions and refused to meet his eye as they knelt reflexively on the floor before their father. Splinter’s ears flattened as he regarded them, wondering what mischief they had to confess to today. It was always such with these two, then they were together. Alone, Leonardo was least likely to cause trouble, but when Raphael was present, all logic and rules flew out of Leonardo’s mind. It was not a tendency that Splinter approved of or liked about his sons.

  
“Master,” Leo began, staring at the tatami mat as he tried to find the correct words. “We wish to speak with you.”

  
Splinter stroked his beard, regarding them both slowly. He nodded. “Then speak, my sons.”

  
Swallowing hard, Leo glanced at Raph, trying to anchor himself and find strength in those golden depths. In the end, he stared at the floor as he began to pour out the tale, his heart, and his soul to his stern-faced father.

  
“Master,” Leo began, swallowing again. “Master Splinter, you’ve taught us all we know about how to survive in this world, and we are grateful.”

  
Raph rolled his eyes, but Leo did not see. “But, there are things you never spoke about. Not really. I know that Master Yoshi and Tang Shen were in love, but … you’ve never told us anything about love, Father. Not that kind of love.”

  
Again, Splinter’s ears flattened and he knew that his son’s words were true. Love outside of the familial context was never part of their education, nor had he seen a reason for it to be so. His sons, precious and talented though they were, dedicated, brilliant, were mutants. They would never have a place in the world of humans, and they would never know that kind of love. At least, that was what he had thought before Mr. Jones and Ms. O'Neil came into their lives. He saw the way that Donatello looked at the girl, and Raphael was as close to Mr. Jones as any of his brothers. Perhaps he should have had the conversation after all. Perhaps he had underestimated his sons.

  
“But we learned on our own,” Leo continued, and Splinter was not surprised to hear it. Leonardo was his most dedicated pupil, and Splinter nodded gravely.

  
“I suspected as much, my son,” he said, reaching to lay a thin hand on Leonardo’s temple. “I suspected that you may indeed find love one day.”

  
“I have, Father,” Leo responded, eyes still on the gentle rippled surface of the tatami mat. “I am in love. I’ve found my soul-mate, and I love him more than anything. I hope that you can understand that.”

  
Nodding, Splinter patted Leonardo. So his son was gay. Splinter held no malice against the orientation; so long as Leonardo was happy with the man he had found to love and had decided to give his love in return … But, there was more to discuss. Their lives were tumultuous and secret, and Leonardo’s soul-mate would need to understand that, protect himself and keep their confidences. And what of Raphael? Why had Leonardo brought him along for this confession?

  
“And you, my son?” Splinter asked, leaning to lay a hand on Raphael’s shoulder. “Mr. Jones?”

 

“Huh?” Raph responded, blinking in confusion at his master. “Casey …? What about ‘im?”

  
“No, Master Splinter,” Leo interrupted, cringing as his father turned to him. “Raph isn’t in love with Casey. He’s … I’m … Raphael and I are together. We’ve been together for almost six months now. We love each other. Raphael is my brother, my companion, and my soul-mate. We, uh, we were hoping to receive your blessing, Father.” Leo bowed his head, sheepishly trailing off as Raph rolled his eyes so hard they nearly rolled back into his skull.

  
A moment of silence stretched between them and then another as Master Splinter withdrew his hands from his children and instead gazed intently at them. Even Raphael dropped his eyes under the scathing stare, unable to meet his father’s piercing eyes as Splinter digested what had been told to him. Leonardo and Raphael were in love? With each other? Brother. Blood brothers, not chosen family, like Ms. O'Neil and Mr. Jones, but actual shared lives and genetics and history. How had this come to be? Though Splinter was normally content to let his children make their own mistakes, as children were won to do, he couldn’t abide by something as dangerous as this.

“No,” he said simply, staring into Leonardo’s deep brown eyes. “My blessing is not something that I can give. Leonardo,” his eyes cut to Raphael before he continued. “Surely you know that this is wrong.”

  
“No, Master,” Leo said, shocking both Splinter and Raph. “There’s nothing wrong about the way I feel.”

  
“But, perhaps, the way you feel is being influenced by the foolhardiness and emotional volatility of your brother.”

  
As though he’d been slapped, Raph flinched. He was the hot-head and the trouble maker, and he’d always suspected himself to be Splinter’s least favorite son. The words stung his heart and made it bleed, only confirming his suspicions. Shaking his head, he pulled to his feet and started to back out of the room, mumbling quiet excuses.

  
Leo grabbed Raph’s hand and pulled him back. “Don’t go, Raph,” he murmured, squeezing Raph’s hand firmly as his brother settled uncomfortably beside him. Raph couldn’t bring himself to meet Splinter’s eyes and Leo couldn’t pull away.

  
“I’m not being influenced. Not like that. This is just … how it is. We, uh, I thought you should know.”

  
Scowling, Splinter’s ears flattened, but he nodded gravely and lifted a hand. “I see. You are dismissed. We will talk about this later.”

  
Later turned out to be never and always. Quips about Leonardo’s performance and behavior left Splinter’s lips during each practice, attributing his son’s lack of perfection to the distraction of Raphael. Each statement felt like a dagger aimed at Raph’s heart, and he wilted under the assault. Everyone noticed, and the resentment against their father grew amongst the brothers. Leo no longer meditated with Splinter in the mornings and tried to avoid him as much as possible, unable to handle one more comment about honor or dishonor.

  
Before Leo had expressed his feelings to Raph, he’d meditated for weeks, months, on the situation. It wasn’t simply about loving Raph, but rather how it would impact their entire family. It wasn’t dishonorable to be in love, Leo knew, and he’d expected his family to understand. It was only Splinter, perhaps because he had been raised inside of a human home, who seemed reluctant to accept the relationship between Leo and Raph. It was a fling, a passion of the moment, a regrettable, dishonorable mistake.

  
“Enough!” Splinter screamed when Leonardo’s hand slipped once more and he nearly dropped his ninjato in an embarrassing mishap like he hadn’t had since he was a child. Splinter took a step closer, his face terse and stern. “Leonardo, you are behaving like a child. Is this how you’ve been taught to lead? Perhaps if weren’t up all night with your brother, you could properly grip a sword.”

  
Mikey reacted first and his jaw hit the floor. Don narrowed his eyes, as did Leo, neither particularly surprised by the taunting, nasty words. Raph simply looked wounded and Leonardo pulled himself up straight. “If anything, Father,” he retorted, “my nights with Raphael have improved my wrist strength and flexibility.”

  
Faster than lightning, Splinter’s hand flew, catching Leo across the mouth. As shocking as it may have been, the turtles had been raised for combat and everyone moved in tandem. Don positioned himself in front of Leo, pushing his older brother back, and Mikey stood to his side, taking Leo’s arm with concern etched deep in his blue eyes. Raph, however, puffed out his plastron and wedged himself between Splinter and Leo, hands up in open defiance to their father.  
“Raph,” Leo said, reaching out to lay a hand on his mate’s shoulder. “Don’t.”

  
Don’t. There was no reason not to smack the old rat, but Raph dropped his fists anyway at Leo’s gentle prompting. Tersely, he took a step back to join his brothers. Splinter glowered at all of them furiously, ears flat and pointed teeth showing under his gums. Insolence, disobedience, and dishonor. How had this happened? Where had he gone so wrong?

  
“Don’t you raise yer hand to him again,” Raph threatened, looking pointedly at Splinter.

  
“It is not the student’s place to command the teacher, Raphael,” Splinter snarled, but Leo shook his head as he intertwined his fingers with Raph’s.

  
“We have nothing else to learn from you,” Leo admitted quietly. It hurt his heart to say it, but the events of the past few weeks had shown that it was true. He loved his father and desperately craved his approval, but … it wasn’t worth this.

  
“It’s time for us to leave,” Leo said, tightening his hand on Raph’s. Leo did not break eye contact with Splinter until he’d led his brothers out of the room.

  
“Leave?” Mikey whispered as they moved through the lair. “Where are we going to go, Leo?”

  
“Up to Northampton,” Leo soothed, patting Mikey’s shoulder comfortingly. “to the farmhouse, Mikey. Casey won’t mind if we use it. Go get your things together. We’re need to get moving before the sun starts to rise.”

  
Solemnly, the brothers packed up the only real home that they had ever known. Silence permeated the lair as they worked. In the dojo, Splinter sat in reflection. The quiet scuffles of noise from his sons’ packing twitched his ears, but he stayed where he was until the noises began to crescendo and he knew that they were leaving.

  
Moving past the thin rice screens, Splinter drew himself to his full height and watched Don strap on his messenger bag and prepare a cart to carry their things to the Battleshell. Mikey wore the backpack that Splinter had found in an alley and cleaned up two Christmases ago. Sadness and anxiety mingled on their faces, but Leonardo’s was neutral and blank while Raphael’s was still tinged with indignant anger. They stood together near the garage doors, talking softly with their palms together on Raphael’s lower plastron.

  
“I did not give you permission to leave,” Splinter said.

  
Raph scoffed. “We didn’t ask for yer permission.”

  
Striding forward purposefully, Splinter faced Leonardo. His eldest son met his eyes defiantly, and perhaps Splinter might have been proud if the circumstances were different. He was not proud now. He was ashamed of his sons and their rash, hateful actions.

  
“You would abandon your family, Leonardo?” Splinter asked softly, but Leo shook his head.

  
“My brothers are my family. There’s no place for you amongst us anymore.”

The words cut into Splinter’s heart and the sting morphed into anger. When he raised his hand this time, Raphael was there. When they had been children, Splinter had seemed an unstoppable force and an immovable object; now in their twenties, Splinter seemed smaller and frailer than ever before. Even Raph himself was shocked when Splinter’s wrist cracked in his hand, staring wideeyed and slack-jawed at his father. He dropped Splinter’s wrist and took a step back as the old rat cradled the injury. “Don’t follow us,” Raph warned, “Or we ain’t gonna hold back just for old time’s sake.”

  
Thinking back on it, Leo wished that he could say that he never looked back. As Don revved up the old Battleshell and activated the elevator to street level, Leonardo couldn’t help but stare back at the place he had been raised and to the father he’d idolized for years. Everything was going to be different now, he knew. As he looked around at his brother’s and their solemn expressions, however, he thought that perhaps it would be alright. He had a family who loved him and needed him, and he would do his best to lead them into this new adventure.

  
Switching on the headlights, Don turned onto the street and turned down the long, dark road to Massachusetts.


	2. In the Name of the Sons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah, Raph has babies. I forgot.

Early morning beams of gold and orange peaked over the horizon as the Hamato brothers pulled into the long, dusty drive of the Jones farm. A weariness of spirit had settled over them, overshadowing the tiredness in their bodies. Raph didn’t think he’d be able to sleep and he didn’t speak as he followed Leo out of the van, their hands clasped together between them. Sleep, as it turned out, eluded all of them. Donatello busied himself with the necessary repairs and modifications to make the house both livable and private while Mikey patched the old coop and rounded up the stray chickens. As Leo sat to pen a white flag letter to Karai, Raph felt as though he was the only one with nothing to do.

  
Standing in the doorway, Raph looked out into the sparse woods surrounding the house. They thickened as they fanned out and a soft, earthy breeze blew over the porch and his cheeks. Everything smelled so alive here, unlike the putrid stench of rot and excrement that leaked into the sewer despite Don’s best efforts to block it out. Cupping his plastron, Raph sighed. This was where he wanted to have his child.

  
“Are you hurting?” Leo asked, coming up behind his mate and wrapping his arms around him. His hands closed over Raph’s as he rested his chin in the crook of Raph’s shoulder. Leo stroked Raph’s belly, just barely protruding, and nuzzled him lovingly as Raph shook his head.

  
“Nah. Just thinkin'” He replied, leaning back into Leo’s embrace. It was easy to feel peaceful here, hopeful, even, despite the life-changing fight that they’d all just had with their master and father.

  
Leo understood. He had been thinking of all that’d transpired as well and he knew that it needed to be discussed. Tugging Raph gently, he led him into the dining room. “Wait here,” he said, kissing Raph’s temple affectionately when Raph scowled, crossing his arms belligerently. “I’m going to go get Mikey and Don. We all need to talk about … what we’re going to do now,” Leo explained gently, and Raph conceded, uncrossing his arms and nodding as his lover left the room. Leo had a point; everything was out in the open now. Well, almost everything, but he still wanted to know what his brothers thought of what they had happened and what they had learned about the nature of Leo and Raph’s relationship. Besides, Leo was right. What were they supposed to do now?

  
As all of his brothers seated themselves around the table, Raph looked at each one solemnly. Leo had positioned himself as the head of the table and he examined each brother in turn as well, eyes softening as they lingered on Raph.

  
“Well, guys,” Leo began, awkward nature raring its head. “We’re here. I mean, things are different now. I wanted to say, um, thanks.” He paused and took a breath to steady himself and anchor his thoughts. “Don, Mikey, thank you for coming here with us. Life would not be the same without both of you.”

  
“Of course,” Don answered while Mike smiled. “Leo, you’re our brother. I know sensei is, was, our father, but the way he behaved was deplorable. We’re in this,” Don spread his hands, indicating his brothers about the table, “whatever it is, with you.”

  
“Yeah, dude,” Mikey echoed, clapping Raph on the shoulder. “We’re bros.”

  
“Yeah,” Raph plucked Mikey’s hand from his arm. “Thanks, Mikey.”

  
Nodding, Leo looked at Raph again. His cheeks flushed darkly as he read the expression in Leo’s eyes. “There’s something that I, we, want to share with you,” Leo said and Raph ducked his head in embarrassment.

  
“Raph’s pregnant.”  


The response was immediate. Mikey’s jaw hit the table and Don squinted at his little brother. He had always known this was a possibility, considering Raph’s intersex condition, and he wasn’t particularly surprised to hear that it had happened.  


“Technically,” Don said, “he’s gravid. Turtles don’t get pregnant.”  


“What the fuck does gravid mean?” Raph barked with annoyance.  


Don smiled slyly. “Gravid. Carrying eggs. Pregnant implies live young, which I doubt you’ll have. You have eggs inside of you, baby brother, not babies. Thus, you’re gravid. But don’t worry,” he said, smirk widening, “You still have that momma-to-be glow.”  


Raph snarled out a disgusted noise and Don laughed good-naturedly. Rounding the edge of the table, Mikey crept towards Raph with fingers outstretched and Raph allowed it when Mikey began to pet his stomach reverently  


“Just think it,” he whispered, staring at Raph’s plastron with wonder, “little dudes running around. Or dudettes! Babies, Raphie!”  


Though the flush was hot on his cheeks, Raph shook his head and chuckled, covering Mikey’s hand with his own. “Yeah, Mikey. Babies. I’ve thought about it.”  


Watching his brothers like this filled Leo with an almost paternal happiness. The thought quickly deflated, however, when he considered how their own father had reacted to the knowledge of their mating. Still, he supposed having this much of his family intact was something to be grateful for, and Leonardo was, but he knew deep down that no one would ever quite fill the Splintershaped hole in his heart.  


-_-_-_  


As Spring turned to Summer, the days grew warmer and longer. Slowly, not all at once, Mikey and Donnie seemed to grow closer until one day Raph stumbled upon them kissing in the little vegetable patch that Leo had cultivated behind the house. Mikey had seemed a little flustered, but Don had not. He’d explained that he’d always had thoughts about this, about them together, for as long as he could remember. He had simply never had the courage to act on those impulses without Leo and Raph’s prompting. Mikey, Raph suspected, was just happy to be loved, and there was plenty to go around. Don kissed Raph under the large oak near the porch and one night Raph saw Mikey’s feet up on Leo’s thighs as they swayed gently in the porch swing, Leo massaging up and down his littlest brother’s shapely legs.  


They all fell into each other as easy as a summer breeze and though Raph still loved Leo and considered him to be his mate, he enjoyed the sweet, sensual encounters with his other brothers as well. Sex was something he shared with Leo only, however, and neither of his other brothers pressed him for it. Leo had sex with Mikey, Raph suspected, but they didn’t discuss it. When they all climbed into the big bed made of two smaller beds shoved together, they mostly enjoyed one another’s presences in silence, even Mikey. It made the summer days seem especially pleasant and peaceful and it helped to assuage the pain in their collective heart at the loss of their father to a dull ache. It was Donatello who first suspected that Mikey was pregnant, to the surprise of his brothers. Did he have a condition that no one had known about? Surely he was the most fluid in gender expression of the brothers, and Raph just stared hard at Mikey’s flat stomach when Don shared his discovery with them. There were going to be more children; they would not be alone. Their kind would not end with the four of them. The knowledge gave Raph a hope that he had not felt in a long time and helped him manage the pain of Splinter’s absence.  


Occasional visits from Casey and April helped as well. Their friends didn’t press for the details of what had brought them to the farm. Well, April did not press and she fixed Casey with a hot stare whenever his questions got too invasive or he reached out to stroke Raph’s protruding belly. Within a few weeks, Mikey’s stomach had popped out and he gleefully allowed Casey to pet it during visits or supply drop-offs.  


When Casey wasn’t around to faun over Mikey’s belly, Mikey spent most of his time traipsing after Raph. Always, he wanted to talk, to touch, to compare their stomachs or the new way their skin smelled. Though he wasn’t as fascinated by the hormones coursing through them as Mikey was, Raph allowed the contact and spent many an afternoon dozing in the sweet sunshine with his little brother wrapped securely in his arms.  


Though he loved those lazy afternoons with Mikey, Raph spent copious amounts of time holed up in the bedroom that he and Leo had appropriated for their private use. It was there that Raph began to nest; he gathered mountains of blankets and pillows and even drug in a shallow sandbox. He’d spend hours in there, swaddled in his covers while staring intently at the sandbox. Donnie said Raph must be getting close to dropping his eggs and while Don found the animalistic behavior off-putting, Leonardo found it both fascinating and endearing. He watched Raph, whenever Raph would allow it, touched him when he could, bathed him in kisses and gentle caresses until Raph got fed up and pushed him away.  


During those times, after he’d shoved Leo out of his bubble, Raph took to pacing. Eventually the pacing moved down the hall and out the door. Raph’s feet wore tracks in the sagging porch wood and then he went into the yard and stomped down paths in the long grass with his pacing feet. Again, Don thought this had to mean that Raph was close to laying his eggs and needed to release pent-up energy, since neither Mikey nor Raph had really been training during their gravidity. Leo privately thought Raph resented him for pursuing his training when Raph could not, but Leo didn’t know what else to do. Without training and meditation, he thought he would surely go crazy.  


Besides training and tinkering around the house, there wasn’t much to do and Don was reading his way through every book in the house to keep his own sanity. Nearly three months after they’d come to the farmhouse, when the days had grown short and crisp, Don laid in the precious afternoon sun and pretended to read. In reality, he was watching his brother. Raph’s rounded out thighs, softened by his lack of training and constant cravings, jiggled lightly with each stomp through the grass. Sharp nails dug bloody crescent moons into his palms and Don was mostly sure Raph was gnawing the inside of his cheek. As the family physician, Don knew the signs Raph displayed when he was in pain and stubbornly trying to hide it. Thus, he’d laid his blanket nearby to observe his hard-headed little brother until either Raph made mention of the pain or something happened that required intervention.  


Before either happened, Leo dropped onto the blanket with Don. “Mikey’s napping,” he said, and Don nodded without taking his eyes from Raphael. Leo turned his own head, then looked questioningly back to Don.  


Sighing, Don dog-eared his book and sat it down. “Do you notice anything unusual?”  


He didn’t, but Leo turned back to Raph and stared at him anyway. It wasn’t a real question; Don had noticed something that Leo had not, but even looking at Raph now, Leo didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. “No,” he replied. “He’s pacing again. That’s not unusual.”  


Don pushed off his elbows and crossed his long legs in front of him. “No, but watch closer. His shoulders, his breath, his hands. Really look at him.”  


Leo did as he was told even as he frowned at the way his little brother commanded him. With Don’s direction, he could see it: the tension in Raph’s shoulders, the shortness of his breath, the clench of his hands. “He’s in pain.”  


“Yes,” Don acknowledged. “I’m 98.4 percent sure he’s having contractions.”  


“What!?” Leo wheeled away from Raph to stare at Don, then hopped to his feet when he saw Don’s serious expression. “Why didn’t you tell me!? Why didn’t he tell me!?” But of course Raph wouldn’t say anything, the stubborn idiot. Leo wondered if he hadn’t wandered out when he had if Raph would have just absconded into the woods and dropped his eggs into a hole somewhere without saying anything at all. Moron!  


Though he knew that he should approach Raph calmly and try to soothe his mate, he just couldn’t. There was no one who got under Leo’s skin like Raph did and when he did ridiculous macho things like this, things that caused him unnecessary pain and potentially put their children at risk, no amount of counting his breaths could keep Leo’s own temper completely under wraps. He should have approached with patience and understanding; instead, he stomped to Raph, grabbed his hard-headed brother by the forearms, and gave him a sound rattle.  


“Leo, what the hell!?” Raph shouted, startled and aggravated as he pushed Leo away.  


Leo narrowed his eyes. “That’s my line. What are you doing, Raph?”  


“I was walkin, til you came over here to play earthquake. You tryin to give me shaken baby syndrome?”  


A deep sigh passed Leo’s lips and he took Raph’s arms again. “That only happens after they come out, babe.” His eyes cut to Raph’s tight fists and the swell of his plastron. Leo frowned. “Which, by the looks of it, is going to be any second now. Why didn’t you say anything?”  


Opening his mouth to defend himself, Raph found that he had nothing to say and snapped it shut. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Whatever. Let’s go inside,” Raph said and Leo nodded, walking beside him, wincing when Raph whimpered softly and murmured “I feel like I’m gonna tear in half.”  


“You’re going to be great, Raph,” Leo assured as they climbed the stairs and locked themselves in their bedroom where Raph had been nesting. “You’re so strong, Raph. Strong and beautiful.”  


“Ugh. Shut up.”  


Mikey knocked first and Leo gently shooed him away after Raph shook his head vehemently. Don was next, half an hour later, but Raph didn’t want him there either. Leonardo was the only one Raph wanted with him, sharing this embarrassing, intimate experience, though he did concede to allow Don entrance if anything took a turn for the worse.  


Raph was no stranger to pain, but he’d never felt anything like this. His tail swelled and bulged as the large eggs pushed against his dripping cloaca, though what it was wet with, he didn’t want to think about and the intrusive thought of Leo eating his afterbirth made him vomit on the carpet. Leo cleaned it up and dabbed Raph’s forehead with a cool rag, not saying anything, knowing that any words of comfort would feel patronizing to Raph right now. He didn’t need to say anything; his steady presence was enough to anchor Raph, allow him to focus and breathe as he groaned, cried, and pushed his way through the laying of his eggs. Their eggs.  


They were beautiful, like large robin’s eggs. Leo was completely bewitched by them; he hadn’t expected them to look like that, flecked with blue and brown over the creamy shell. He wanted to show Don and Mikey, anyone really, but Raph refused to let the eggs leave his sight, refused to leave his nest until they hatched, and refused to allow Don and Mike inside. And so instead of showing off his newly laid young, Leo spent the next week fetching water, food, towels, and whatever else his cranky, reclusive mate desired as they waited for the eggs to hatch and the babies, and Raph, to join the family.  


It was early morning on the ninth day when the first egg hatched. Raph was asleep and Leo couldn’t quite bring himself to wake him, transfixed as a crack traveled up the egg and the shell broke away to reveal a shiny green face staring up at him. She, or he, Leo wasn’t sure, was beautiful. The shade of her skin, the dark brown of her eyes, and the shape of her face were all absolutely perfect.  


“Raph,” Leo prodded, reaching to brush away the remnants of the shell and take the hatchling in his arms. She cooed quietly, her tiny hands reaching up to feel the shape of her father’s break, memorizing the mottled skin under her fingertips. “Raph, wake up!”  


“Huh?” Rolling over, Raph blinked then sat with a start at the sight of Leo cradling the baby. A baby! “Shit! Why didn’t you wake me!?”  


Leo shrugged, unable to look away from his daughter. “It happened so fast. She just … popped out.”  


The other two, however, took a lot longer. Passing the baby between them and tending to her needs passed the time until the others hatched in quick succession. The first was the spitting image of Raph, with brilliant emerald skin and eyes that shone like molten gold. Lastly, another small daughter worked her way out with trepidation, unsure of this strange world, but when she looked at her fathers, her blue eyes lit up and she laughed, then cried, thrusting chubby arms up in demand of being held. They scrambled over each other to comply.  


Their brothers were as excited to see Raph again as they were the babies. When they carried them out, two in Raph’s arms and one in Leo’s, Raph stared at Mikey, amazed at how round he’d grown in just a week’s time. Not remembering his brothers as children, the youngest was especially smitten with the hatchlings, wanting to hold and kiss them, change them and sing them to sleep at night. At first, Raph refused, but as the sleepless nights of newborn babies stretched on, he was more than willing to accept the help. Besides, Mikey needed the practice, he teased, for when he had his own babies in the spring.  


Before spring came, Karai did. Leo heard her before she reached the house and was discretely armed when he met her on the porch; small explosives in his pockets, tanto slid into his wrist wrap, and a knife strapped underneath his pants leg. There’d been no response to his letter before this and he hadn’t expected to see her again. Once upon a time, there had been something between them, a fierce and toxic emotion that smoldered and exploded every time he came in contact with the Foot leader. Now, there was only a hesitant mutual respect and understanding as Karai nodded in greeting. Leo returned it.  


“It’s true, then,” She said. It was not a question. “You’ve given up your position as soldiers of the Hamato clan.”  


“Everything I wrote was true,” Leo returned easily, watching Karai’s eyes as they drifted off the porch and out towards the back garden, where the toddlers played. “I have no wish to fight you, Karai. I have no fight with you, unless you plan on bringing one to my family.”  


As she watched the babies in the waning light, Karai shook her head. “No, Leonardo. The Foot has no interest in defenseless children, nor their new mothers. I just wanted to see for myself.”  


Turning back to Leo, Karai held his arms stiffly at her sides and lowered herself into a deep bow. “Farewell, Leonardo. You were a worthy adversary. I have never known your equal. I release the vendetta against you.” She straightened, a smirk on her lips. “May the fates grant you many peaceful years and many fat babies.”  
After that encounter, their goodbyes, their exchanges of respect, Leo never saw her again. Neither had he seen Splinter, even as the winter passed and spring blossomed, bringing with it milder weather, early vegetables, and Michelangelo’s four children. Though it was difficult to say for certain who had fathered them, 

Leo was sure it had been Don. Don seemed to know that as well, by the way he hung close to them, watching Mikey and the children with open adoration. The joy of fatherhood was not something he thought he’d experience, any of them would experience, and the opportunity to share his knowledge with his children, to leave the world with that bit of his mind was immensely satisfying and precious. Perhaps that was why Don doted on Mikey almost as much as Leo did to Raph. Or, perhaps, like Mikey, he just wanted someone to love.  


Leo considered all of this as the autumn wind threatened to blow, teasing that summer was coming to an end, the twilight approaching as he watched his children, nieces, and nephews play in the yard.  


“Hey,” Raph said, coming up to snake an arm around him from behind.  


Laying his hand on Raph’s forearm, Leo leaned into him, smiling when Raph reached around and handed him a steaming cup of tea. “Hey, yourself.”  


“You okay?” Raph asked, resting his chin on Leo’s shoulder. “Yer face looks kinda pinched, like ya sat on a pine cone.”  


Laughing, Leo shook his head and slid his hand down to intertwine his fingers with his brother’s. “I’m fine, Raph. I’m good. Really, really good.”  


As the two embraced, a lone figure watched from the edge of the woods. Shrewd black eyes took in the entire scene; the turtles on the porch, the ones playing in the grass, and the other two lounged over a thick, downy blanket. So much peace. So much happiness here.  


Splinter turned away. Let them enjoy their long, summer days filled with the chirp of cicadas and the laughter of children. He would not take that from them, would not turn them into soldiers again. One day, perhaps, he would approach and beg his sons’ forgiveness, but now was that not time. He just hoped that when the time was right, his sons would forgive him. Until then, let them be safe and well.  



End file.
